A Flower in the Never Ending Pit
by BountyHunter1009
Summary: Does anything good ever come of running away to endless pits? What do you think? Find out in my first fanfic, A Flower in the Never Ending Pit.
1. Chapter 1

A Flower in the Never Ending Pit

It was a dark and dreary night for Chihiro. She had spent the twilight hours dreamily reminding herself that she had a friend in the spirit world. Haku would come to her the next day. They would have adventures together, frolic above the clouds on Haku's scaly back, and breath the air while seeing the marvelous wonders below them. At that moment Chihiro felt as if she were floating aimlessly on a cloud, finally being free, not thinking of anything… when a soft white rose pedal fell on top of her nose.

She woke up to see Lin staring down at her.

"Time to work," she said. Chihiro woke with a start.

"Aaaaaaah," she shouted. Chihiro was confused and ran out of the room with a quickening pace. She raced down the stairs and launched herself out of the bathhouse. She didn't stop running until she was in the village. Lucky for her it wasn't dark. She hid in the bushes and was so scared that she cried herself to sleep. She wasn't sure why she was scared, was it because of the new job, Yubaba, or Haku? She didn't know. It was just at that moment that she saw Haku blissfully gliding down the path towards her.

She jumped up and caressed him. She was so happy that he was here. They ran away smiling and laughing as they made their way to the grassy hill by the "train station." When they got there Haku turned into his dragon like form and picked up Chihiro on his back. She observed the white scales on his back, the beautiful blue hair on his head, and thought to herself what a magnificent creature he was. As they took off Chihiro was jolted around and quickly took hold of Haku's horns. She gripped them as tightly as she possibly could for fear of falling off of him.

They passed over valleys, mountains, caves, and hills. They passed through rain, snow, hail, and lightning. They encountered spirits, humans, animals, and birds. As they passed through countless places the minutes folded into hours and the hours melted into days. They had stopped for food multiple times during the journey, but they hardly noticed if they were hungry or not. They drank from springs, rivers, and lakes, but didn't care if they were thirsty or not.

Finally they had reached their destination. They were now able to see in the distance what they had been waiting for: The Never Ending Pit. Chihiro had heard stories about it from Haku, Lin, and even Boh once, and she had always wanted to go. Luckily, she had a dragon that could fly her there. She had been told that it was a hole that was about two miles in diameter and no one had ever found a bottom to it. Spirits had gone down countless times trying to find the bottom, some are trying, some have tried, and some had died in the attempt. With all of the tales of it, it lived up to its expectations. It was huge, pitch black, and freaky. In fact, it gave Chihiro the creeps. It was so vast that only Haku could see to the other side. Haku suggested that they look inside when Chihiro refused. He tried to tempt her, but she was a stubborn girl and wouldn't budge.

Haku tried to push her in so he could catch her, but as they were too close to the edge Chihiro fought back and ended up pushing Haku into the pit. He was caught off guard and started to fall before he caught his balance. He smiled and started to fly back up when a dragon lunged out at Haku from a cave in the pit and bit him in the stomach.

Chihiro saw Haku struggling and falling to his doom when an idea struck her. Since this is a bottomless pit, if she jumps in, she won't fall to the ground and die. No, she would be able to reach Haku, feed him the tiniest bit of healing cake she had left that the water god had given her, heal him, and be able to get Haku to fly them both back up to safety. Brilliant! With that, Chihiro jumped off the edge into the pit with an indignant yell that rumbled and echoed in the cave.

She blasted down steadily in an arrow like shape so she would fall faster and could barely make out Haku in the distance. When she could clearly make out Haku she passed out spontaneously and silently fell. A few minutes later, a white rose pedal fell onto her cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

The Fall

Chihiro retrieved consciousness the minute the blossom touched her cheek. She took hold of it and carefully placed it in her pocket. When she realized that she was still falling she glanced up. When she looked up she couldn't see light anywhere. With this she deduced that she'd been falling for quite some time. She became a little nervous at the fact that she couldn't see light above her, or Haku below her, but her anxiety passed quickly.

She positioned in the arrow formation and continued as she had previously. She raced down the pit at a great speed, but not as fast as she had gone before for fear of passing out again. As she raced down the pit she could vaguely make out a faint blueish whiteish tint. As she got closer to it she was able to make out its shape. At first she didn't believe it, but after a few seconds she was certain as to what she was headed for. She was sure she wasn't going to survive the impact. The impact of what you ask?

Chihiro was headed straight for the ground.

"But I thought this was an endless pit. Where'd Haku go? Why's the ground _blue_?"

These were all of the thoughts that went through Chihiro's head. She knew that she was going to die. She prepared for the worst when all of a sudden she realized she'd stopped falling…


	3. Chapter 3

Alive

Chihiro still had her eyes closed because she was so scared about her outside world. She eventually opened her eyes as she knew she was going to have to eventually. She looked down and jus barely caught a glimpse of the ground below her bouncing and wavering like it was being blown in the wind. She concluded that she had hit some sort of a humongous blue trampoline! Although she was excited that she was alive she knew she had to figure out some other things before she got to comfortable and started to celebrate. As she repeatedly went up and down she looked up and saw a white shape coming down at her.

"Haku!" she shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHGGGG!" was what Chihiro got as a reply.

She wanted to scream herself because she knew that Haku was big and that she was going to somehow dodge him before he crushed her under his immense weight. He was getting a lot closer, and fast. She went from side to side trying to judge where he might come to a rest when an idea struck her. Haku was a large dragon, but could also be a small boy. If she could somehow get him to change to his boy form he wouldn't be so big and then they would all be safe.

"Haku! Can you change back to your human form for me please! It would really help!"

Haku didn't shift his shape, he didn't do anything at all except get closer to Chihiro.

"Come on! Human! Human! Please Haku…

"Change back."

As Chihiro prepared for the worst again Haku understood what she wanted of him. When he was just a hair's width away from her and the ground he shifted his shape and rolled out of the way so she didn't get harmed. After a few minutes of hum bouncing up and down on the trampoline he finally came to a rest and fell unconscious on the floor.

"At least you're alive!" shouted Chihiro.

She paced around him and the trampoline and decided to investigate. It wasn't the biggest of spaces so she assumed that it was relatively safe and that Haku would've approved if he were awake. She walked around the bouncy blue substance. She bent down and smelt it, hoping she might recognize it as something else that she knew. It turned out that she did know the smell. What they had hit was an extremely large bouncy healing mushroom. She was ecstatic and quickly shoved her pockets with little pieces of the fungi so she could take them home with her. After she couldn't take anymore she quickly went over to Haku and fed him some. Since he was unconscious she more or less had to shove it down his as compared to Haku just eating it, but it made it down his throat all the same. Within a few seconds his eyelids opened and he was back on his feet.

"Haku!" Chihiro yelled.

"Oh, Chihiro! Is that you?"

"Yes, are you okay? You had a nasty fall. You were really hurt so I gave you some of this healing mushroom!"

"You what!"

"I gave you some healing mushroom. That's what we fell onto!"

"Chihiro, how could you do something so stupid?"

"What!"

"The only way the River Spirit got that was by means of good and peace. You just went over there and ripped a lot of the plant away! Now I will be consumed by darkness because I ate the plant!"

"But why? I don't understand."

"It's very complicated, but to make a long story short: You ripped apart a mushroom protected by a magic shield that will now infect both of us eventually in the most terrible of ways! Fortunately for you, I'm a dragon. Maybe I can fly us both out of here before the magic kicks in."

"Well if that really is our only hope then I guess it's what we have to do…

"Before we go Haku, hug me in case we don't make it out."

The embrace was powerful and was filled with so much kindness that the seal was broken again, but now it was with love. As Haku transformed into a dragon and they flew off continuing up the pit Chihiro caught one last glimpse of the beautiful mushroom. However something was ruining the beauty for Chihiro, and that was when she noticed the skeletons on the outer rim of the ground. The mushroom was quavering again, but this time no one had just hit it.

"Haku, you need to really pick up the pace. Now!"

"Why, what do you see Chihiro!"

"The mushroom still hates us and wants us dead. I just saw skeletons of other people down there and then noticed the mushroom was moving. I don't think that that thing is a very nice plant."

From down below a tidal wave of air launched itself from the monster's gaping mouth. It sent Chihiro and Haku flying up the pit faster than the speed of sound. They continued bolting up the pit when Chihiro eventually looked down.

"The mushroom is sending huge vines up to grab us! Fly Haku!"

"I'm trying the best I possibly can Chihiro! Can you try to relax! I know that sounds hard, but you have to trust me on this. I'm starting to see the most faint of light up above and I think I might just be able ti get us out of here! Okay?"

"Okay."

The vines grew nearer to Haku as Haku grew nearer to freedom. It was then that the dragon that attacked Haku earlier appeared out of thin air. It launched itself at Haku but passed him with a gush of warm air. It opened its mouth wide and snarled at the plant. It released a roar so powerful that the sound waves pushed the vines far away. The dragon continues its trek downwards until it was eventually out of sight.

"Do you think that it'll be okay?" asked Chihiro

"I think that we'll find out really soon." chimed Haku.

Chihiro guessed Haku knew more about dragons than she did so she didn't argue, and sure enough he was right. From the bottom of the pit there was a blue light that got brighter and brighter as it rose. It passed Haku and Chihiro but still didn't stop. It rose up through the top of the pit and then stopped hovering in the air above ground.

"La oh lahu maki!"

"What does that mean?" asked Chihiro.

"He said that he was the mushroom spirit. When a spirit of something gets released from something evil, the mushroom, it means that it has finally found peace and is forever grateful. I bet that any moment now we'll see the dragon rise up and return to its lair."

"Wait, don't resurface yet. We need to thank the dragon."

As the animal rose Chihiro quickly put out her hand signaling for it to stop. It stared at them with its ruby red eyes.

"Thank you for everything. You allowed us to get out alive."

"Yes, yes, I did. But only so I could have you for myself!"

It grabbed them and quickly flew away.


	4. Chapter 4

The Tunnel of Evil Dragon

The dragon blew on Chihiro and Haku, both unconscious from the force that the dragon used to redirect them. As the fierce and piercing smell of dragon breath settled in their noses, they abruptly woke up, startled.

"What is going on?" shouted Chihiro.

"I…I'm…I'm not sure." said Haku.

"But the important thing is that _I_ know my little pretties." retorted the dragon.

"Where are you taking us?" demanded Haku.

"Yes, and why? We have done nothing wrong! If you wanted us dead, you could have left us for the vines! Please, let us be!"

After Chihiro finished this remark, she stood up and ran across the dragon's broad back. When she got to the edge, she made her legs continue moving, despite the fact that they knew what she was doing. As she fell into the abyss that was the dragon's tunnel, she realized what a foolish thing she'd just done. She fell slowly, a few inches at a time, and suddenly felt a tugging sensation on her back. Before she could blink, Haku secured his grip on her shirt, and brought her level with him once more.

"What were you _thinking_ Chihiro! You could have died!" he yelled.

"I…I…I," she paused. "I don't know, I just wanted to get away from…from everything!" she cried.

She put her head to rest on Haku's shoulder, and he stroked her silken hair to comfort her. Unfortunately, this calming moment didn't last long, as the dragon did not like Chihiro's actions. He stopped flying, planted his feet on the ground, and stared back at the two of them, eyes glaring deep into their souls.

"You **fools**! You will pay for your delinquency! You will suffer the consequences!" he blared on and on.

The dragon lifted Chihiro with his foot, ripping her from Haku's arms. He took her quivering hands, spread them out, and placed them away from her frail body. He then opened his mouth, and breathed slowly, creating a hot invisible flame. He neared his jaws to her hands, slowly melting away the layers of skin one by one. Chihiro was in so much pain she didn't even think about moving, but Haku couldn't bear to watch.

He raced from his sitting position and morphed into his beastly form. His white fangs sunk into the dragon, and maroon liquid gushed out of the wound. The hurt dragon roared as loud as thunder which is directly above you, and lashed back with a whip-tail attack. Haku retreated, but quickly took back his ground with a huge bound, and snapped of his jaws at the opponent, mocking him. The already angry and bleeding dragon rushed at Haku with all his might, too strong for Haku to even imagine, so he simply flew up and maneuvered himself to avoid the attack. The dragon, who was now lodged deep inside the opposite rock wall, gave a deep moan, and then silenced his vocal cords.

Haku's body slowly shifted back to his human form, and slumped to the ground, exhausted. He was so tired from fending off the dragon that he completely forgot about Chihiro. She was over on the opposite side of the cave, also on the ground, silently sobbing. She was shaking violently, and her hand was a black like that of the night sky. It hurt her so much, and she knew she had to treat it, but she had nothing that she could think off.

_Wait! _she thought. _What if I eat the mushroom?_ She knew it was risky, but she was desperate for help, and her hands would only get worse. She bent over, taking extra vigilance not to move her hands, and took the mushroom from her pocket with her teeth. She bit and bit, taking piece after piece, and slowly chewing and swallowing. She felt instantly better, but she knew her hands wouldn't be completely healed. As she ate all of her remaining mushroom, she could feel her body becoming stronger, and the pain was subsiding. She gazed down at her hands, and just like she predicted, they were the same color and texture. However, the pain was next to gone, and she could manipulate her fingers again. As she recovered from this horrific experience she prayed to the mushroom spirit, willing it to understand why she had done what did. She then quickly got up and rushed over to Haku, who was still unconscious. She shook him until a sound ruptured from his throat, and he slowly came back to life.

"Haku! Get up! We need to leave! Please, Haku, please!"

"Chi…hi…Ch…hir…o…. What…what happened to me? I remember fighting him, but why did I blackout?"

"Because you were so tired! You rammed into him and bit him! I…you…I love you Haku!"

Chihiro then ran in the direction they came from, and Haku slowly managed to catch up with her.

"Why are you running from me?"

Chihiro wouldn't respond, and continued to jog along the passage. This continued for an hour, until Chihiro was so exhausted, that she collapsed on the rock floor. She instantly fell into a deep sleep, and didn't wake for eleven hours. When she woke up, she stared into Haku's concerned eyes, and looked away. Then, five minutes later, Haku picked Chihiro up, and kissed her. Chihiro's spirits lifted, her adrenaline rushed through her body, and then she kissed him back. It was one of the best things Chihiro had ever felt. Her veins coursed with love, and her body felt as if it were in space; floating in a different world. When their lips unlocked, they stared deeply at each other for many minutes. They then grasped each other in a hug impenetrable by shame or doubt. They held onto the other's warmth until the light began to fade, and the night was kicking in. They then walked towards the exit, figuring they could get out by morning. As they walked, they held each other's hands, and continued at an even pace side by side. As the night was coming to a close, they came to a fork in the tunnel, and decided to go left. Chihiro was doubtful, but Haku reassured her that he could sense the way out with his magic. Chihiro, being the loving soul she is, believed him, and they continued until the light blazed bright from the fiery sun.

"Hello!" rasped a voice all too familiar to the two; it was the dragon.


End file.
